THE WORTH A DAM STORY

The one that nearly got away

heidi08 New Species, pictures May 22, 2009

My my my, what a morning of remarkable things at the beaver dam. Dedicated nature fans will already know that we have night herons that roost in the pine tree at Granger’s wharf, but we’ve never seen them up even as far as the train trestle. Jon says that right now they aren’t roosting because they’ve all paired off to nest. This morning I was startled to find this fellow fly onto the primary dam and settle in for a nice long fishing spell. Night herons are monogamous like beavers, and the best bet is that he’s filling his crop to take back to his brood.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when Linda and I saw what transpired. Night herons don’t spear their fish, they wait with their bills open until something good comes along. Apparently while he was holding the barn door open one of the horses tried to make a run for it! Let that be a reminder that sometimes when you’re waiting for something better to come along, you run the risk of losing what you have. As Stephen Sondheim quipped, “you may know what you want but to get what you need, better to keep what you have…”I know I post alot of video but you HAVE TO WATCH this one. It is very unusual footage and has already been picked up by the Cornell Urban bird site!

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=FujhMABOLH4]

Check out updates here.

Three kits and dad visible this morning, and for all you hard core beaver fans, here’s something I snapped while two kits wrestled at the bridge. Sigh, I guess we’re going to have to officially call them yearlings now. Should there be a ceremony?

Aix Sponsa

heidi08 New Species May 17, 2009

The Wood duck is an easy candidate for “best dressed”. The name aix sponsa literally transelates into “Waterbird in bridal dress”, and it ain’t no boring old white, either. Wood ducks have many unique qualities that make other ducks hang their feathered heads in shame: they nest in cavities, they have claws and the eat acorns! Our eagle scout candidate will be adding three wood duck boxes to the creek, and I thought you’d want to learn a little about the neighbors we’re trying to attract. This isn’t a “pipe dream”, because Ted Radke of EBRP board of directors observed 3 wood duck this winter near the beaver dams. In fact beaver dams are known for providing the best possible habitat to encourage wood duck.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=qd3SqLpdHdg]

If you’re a woodworker with a passion for beavers, drop us a note, because I’m sure our scout would appreciate some support.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=h9u01gA-mFA]

Reminder to the City Council:

heidi08 New Species May 16, 2009

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=1jByfWOLmjo]

Seeing people take care of wildlife makes your heart feel lighter. No one would argue there’s a “squirrel shortage”, or that squirrels can’t be annoying little pests that plant forgotten walnuts in your tulip patch and destroy your bird feeders. But watching these UCLA students experience and express compassion for this compelling “human-like” drama, makes us happier. Our hearts are weighed down every day by images of cruelty or indifference. Moments like these are a treat.

Any Questions?

Make way for ducklings!

heidi08 Educational, Environmental, New Species May 2, 2009

This morning glimpsed three duckling broods in the scrape, our older set of two, a mom with four, and a sleeping clump of uncountable numbers.

Two egrets fed on the bank and a greedy cormorant gulped fish between the first and second dams.

The year I started watching the beavers there were two families of phoebe flycatchers at the dam that produced 2-3 offspring each. Now those offspring have offspring and you see phoebe families every 20 feet. This morning babies were getting fed in aerial transactions that, while not worthy of Travis, were nevertheless amusing to watch.

The dams are both full past brimming, and water is flowing over the tops. There doesn’t appear to be any ruptures, just more water than they are used to dealing with, so there is runoff while they readjust. At exactly 7:00 am we saw mom come up over the secondary dam with a branch from the recently downed willow at the corp yard, drag it over the two dams and back into her lodge. There was an brief but exciting cormorant-beaver battle and then it was time for bed.

Planning a visit to the first farmer’s market of the year on sunday? Stop by the ESA grand opening parking lot launch. There will be children’s activities and food as well as opportunities to help them meet their mural fundraising goal. Worth A Dam will be there to support the kids who have supported us.

Come say hi, enter the “baby pool” to guess how many kits mom will have and check out our brand new 2009 tshirt.

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